


A Mutual Thing

by radondoran



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-07
Updated: 2012-04-07
Packaged: 2017-11-03 05:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/377878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radondoran/pseuds/radondoran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremy and Candace are still friends after their breakup--so what does Stacy have to be upset about?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Mutual Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [abcooper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abcooper/gifts).



> Written to a prompt from abcooper, who wanted to see Stacy/Candace from Jeremy's point of view.

It was a mutual thing. Not that Jeremy wasn't glad he had dated Candace. It had been the first real relationship for both of them, and what they had shared together would always be special to him. But after a while it just wasn't fun anymore. And, especially with Jeremy leaving for college in the fall, they had decided that maybe they would be better as friends. That was what Candace had said--Candace, the romantic. She had really come a long way.

The funny thing was, she was right. They stopped fighting, and when the awkwardness of the breakup had cleared, their history made their friendship stronger. They could talk about anything.

"What about Mandy?" Candace asked, gesturing at her with a French fry as she skated by at breakneck speed, trying to keep up with her brothers.

"Mandy?" Jeremy laughed.

"She is pretty cute," said Coltrane.

"Totally! And I know she's your type," Candace added slyly.

They were in the food court at Danville's new roller rink; Jeremy suspected that Phineas and Ferb had had something to do with its construction, but when a pair of local entrepreneurs had bought it and it had unexpectedly become a popular teen hangout, Candace had stopped protesting.

"You do, huh? Well, you would know," said Jeremy. "But I don't think so."

"Well, then, I hear Clarissa's going to your school," said Candace.

"Really?" Jeremy was intrigued in spite of himself.

"Oh ho!" Coltrane grinned. "We've got a hit!"

Jeremy held up his hands in protest. "Come on, guys, cut it out! Candace, I don't need another girlfriend."

"Aw, I know," said Candace. "I'm just having fun with you."

"Ugh, I cannot believe you two!" Stacy abruptly stood up. "I'm gonna go skate. Later!" Jeremy got the feeling she would have stomped off if not for the wheels on her feet; as it was, she managed to skate towards the rink with definite forcefulness.

"That was weird," said Candace, staring after her. "I should go talk to her." She stood up, and wobbled--her roller-skating skills were one thing that had not changed since she and Jeremy had been dating. She fell and managed to catch herself on the chair, stretched out so that her long hair nearly touched the floor.

Jeremy cringed. "Why don't I go talk to her?" he asked, still protective of his ex-girlfriend.

Candace hoisted herself back into the chair with difficulty. "Yeah, okay."

Jeremy glided out onto the rink and caught sight of Stacy's bow fluttering against the wind. "Stacy, wait up!" he called. She didn't slow down until he had caught up and managed to take a place beside her.

"What do _you_ want?" Stacy asked, barely looking at him.

"Nothing! I--um--is anything wrong?"

"No," said Stacy.

"Are you mad at me? Is it something I said?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm just not sure I like you hanging out with us like this. Not after the way you broke Candace's heart."

"Broke her--? It was a mutual thing!" Jeremy insisted. "And come on--does she look heartbroken to you?"

They glanced across the rink at the table, where Candace was laughing at something Coltrane had said.

"Look, it's still weird, okay?" said Stacy. "I'm not mad at you, I just think it's weird."

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty upset." Some boys would have let the matter drop, but Jeremy was a natural fixer--and dating Candace had heightened his sense of when somebody had a hidden problem. "Is it Coltrane? Did he say something to you?" He thought that Stacy and Coltrane's budding romance had fizzled out ages ago, but if something was going on between them, Jeremy would certainly try to smooth things over between his two friends.

"No." Stacy rolled her eyes. "It's not _Coltrane_."

Then-- "Oh. Candace."

"Yeah," Stacy half-whispered. "Candace."

Suddenly the whole thing made sense--heck, suddenly the last few _months_ , or longer, made sense. So Stacy had it bad for Candace. Jeremy tried to remember what to say in this situation. "Well, um, thanks for telling me," he said. Then he added, "Sorry." Not because she had, basically, just come out to him, but because it seemed pretty hopeless--in all the time Jeremy and Candace had been together, Candace had never given any indication that she might go for a girl.

Stacy took his meaning. "Yeah, me too."

They kept skating. After a moment Stacy said, "I'm sorry I blew up at you. It's just been really hard since you and Candace broke up."

"Really?" said Jeremy, surprised.

"At least with you around, I knew where I stood," said Stacy. Now that she had started to share her secret, she was ready to spill her guts. "She was hung up on you so long, I forgot what it was like having her single. Now I have to watch her checking out other boys--and this thing with you, where she checks out other girls on your behalf? I can't stand it."

"I'll try to tone it down," promised Jeremy. He didn't know what else he could do.

"Thanks. Listen, I'm gonna skate around in circles for a while, get my head together." She leaned close to Jeremy and glared. "If you tell anybody what we talked about, I'll--"

"I won't," said Jeremy. "You can trust me."

Stacy smiled. "I know. I hope Candace's next boyfriend is as decent a guy as you are, Jeremy Johnson."

She picked up the pace and glided off into the crowd.

Jeremy headed back to the food court to see if Candace and Coltrane had left him any French fries. There were a couple. Jeremy rolled into his seat and seized upon them.

"How's Stacy?" Candace asked, concerned.

"Oh, she's fine," Jeremy said. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"What did you guys talk about?" asked Coltrane, raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing--"

"You looked like you were getting pretty intimate to me, huh?" He turned to Candace with a smile, but she didn't return it. And before Jeremy could cut in asking them to stop it, Candace did.

"That's not funny. Jeremy can't date Stacy!"

"Jeez, sorry," said Coltrane. "Why not?"

"Because Stacy's--" Candace began, and then stopped.

Jeremy looked at her curiously. Was she blushing?

"-- _my_ best friend," Candace finished. "And--and everyone knows it's against the rules to date your ex-girlfriend's best friend, of course."

"Of course," said Jeremy, spreading his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Candace stood up and wobbled her way over to the rink, calling, "Hey, Stace, wait up!" Stacy did slow down, and Candace joined her. The two girls smiled at each other. Candace caught Stacy's hand to steady herself, and their fingers linked, and Jeremy wondered whether it might not be so hopeless after all.


End file.
